Milton Public Schools: January 20, 2022

Press release from the Milton Public Schools:

Superintendent Jette

January 20, 2022

To: Parents/Guardians and StaffFrom: James F. JetteRe: Superintendent’s Weekly UpdateDate: January 20, 2022

FROM THE DESK OF THE SUPERINTENDENT

These are busy days in the Milton Public Schools and I have a lot of information to share with you today. Please take a few minutes to read through this week’s blog for Covid updates, traffic safety considerations, an update from the Equity Steering Committee, information about the hiring timeline and process for the Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources and Curriculum and a valuable elementary presentation about talking with young children about structural racism happening TONIGHT. Beyond that, I am pleased to share STEM opportunities for MHS students, MLK Celebration work from our students, Elementary SEL work, an upcoming SEPAC presentation and much more. 

Covid Updates: As we continue to prioritize in-person learning and maintaining a healthy and safe teaching and learning environment, we will continue with our current mitigating strategies: mask wearing, and encouraging vaccination and testing.

Covid Updates: 

On Tuesday, January 18th Governor Baker, along with Commissioner Riley and MA Department of Public Health announced the State’s new testing option for schools. In this new option, districts will provide students and staff with at-home Rapid Antigen Tests on a weekly basis. Milton Public Schools will participate in this new State Testing opportunity and I want to share some relevant information about the program. More details will come in a separate standalone communication.

• DESE and DPH recommend that districts and schools select this new option, and if they choose to implement it, they must notify their local boards of health.
• Districts and schools participating in symptomatic and/or pooled testing must continue those testing strategies and discontinue contact tracing and Test and Stay. Milton will continue with Symptomatic Testing and suspend Test and Stay once the new program is up and running.
• Under this new Testing Initiative, all contact tracing will be discontinued.  However, school health professionals have permission to use their discretion if specific situations warrant contact tracing.
• Districts were told that the at-home test for participating students will be shipped out the week of January 31st. MPS will continue Test and Stay until at home testing begins. 
• This new testing initiative requires an opt-in vs. consent. Considering there is no third party involved and MPS is not sharing personal information, consent is not needed.
• All staff and students are eligible to participate regardless of vaccination status.
• The tests will be shipped to the district for internal distribution, and they are packaged in kits containing two tests per kit.
• Participating staff and students will receive one kit (containing 2 tests) every two weeks so that they can test themselves weekly. The first kit should be distributed the week of 1/31.
• Districts and schools should maximize the utility of the at-home tests by determining which day of the week they recommend participating staff and students take the tests.
• When an individual tests positive on an at-home antigen test, they will be asked to inform their school nurse/administration of the positive result.
• MPS is not required to report the results of at-home tests to DPH, but MPS will continue to include positive at-home tests in their weekly testing reports to DESE.
• DESE and DPH will soon update their “Protocols for Responding to COVID-19 Scenarios” guidance to reflect these changes.

As this new initiative was just announced 48 hours ago, we have to work out some of the logistics related to test kit distribution, day of distribution, opt in letters, etc. We will send a standalone communication in the coming day as these details are resolved. 

Covid Reporting: Although we still have a significant number of positive cases, I want to acknowledge that these numbers are greatly reduced from just two weeks ago. We are trending in a very positive direction. For the time period of Thursday, Jan 13 – Wednesday, January 19, 2022, MPS reported the following information to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education as requested. 

Covid Reporting

• Collicot: 26 student cases
• Cunningham: 29 student cases
• Glover: 23 student cases
• Tucker: 7 student cases
• PMS: 18 student cases
• MHS: 3 staff and 24 student cases
• MPS Totals: 3 staff and 127 students

All updated Covid guidelines and documents can be found on our website linked here. 

website linked here. 

Equity Steering Committee: At last night’s School Committee meeting, the Equity Steering Committee gave a short background of the Committee’s work since being formed in July 2021. The presentation focused on the Steering Committee’s definition of Equity, which they are currently sharing with all stakeholders. A major recommendation from the Quality Review was that the district develop a common understanding and definition of Equity. We are seeking the community’s feedback on our definition to ensure the definition resonates for as many people as possible. We are asking caregivers and community members to provide us with that feedback in a 2 question survey linked here. The link for the survey will be available for response until February 6th.

Equity Steering Committee 2 question survey linked here.

Traffic Safety: Each day more than 4400 students and 600 staff members travel to and from one of our schools. Add in thousands of daily commuters and potential inclement weather, and you have a typical morning or afternoon commute in Milton. I have asked each of our principals to remind families about traffic safety and rules at their particular school in the coming days. Here I would like to remind you of several specific rules that MUST be universally adhered to to ensure student and staff safety.

Traffic Safety: 

• If a school bus or a school pupil transport vehicle (van) has its red lights flashing and a stop sign extended, you must come to a complete stop as this is warning to motorists that buses are picking up and dropping off children. It does not matter which side the bus/van is on, motorists should come to a complete stop.
• Please reduce your speed to a minimum once on or near the school campuses and follow all traffic signs.
• Please stop at all crosswalks on school grounds and within the community to allow for students/pedestrians to cross safely. Please do not stop/park on the crosswalk when waiting to pick up your student. 

Thank you for your renewed attention to traffic safety. 

Assistant Superintendent Hiring Process: We have posted the Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources and Curriculum position. All details on the search timeline can be found here. Information on staff, parent/guardian and community participation will be shared next week.

Assistant Superintendent Hiring Process: All details on the search timeline can be found here.

TONIGHT:  On January 20 at 7 pm, our elementary schools will host a virtual evening with Dr. Kimberly Cauley-Narain. Dr. Cauley-Narain will share her journey talking to her own children about structural racism and talk about what she has learned along the way. Finding no books that fit what she was looking for, she wrote a children’s book that explores structural racism in the United States: Cycle of a Dream – A Kid’s Introduction to Structural Racism. In the process, she integrated the broad evidence that supports talking to our preschool and elementary-aged children early and often about racism and other systems barriers that impede equitable educational, (mental) health and other experiences.

TONIGHT:

You are invited to submit a question or comment for Dr Cauley-Narain at this link. This evening is conceived and hosted by the Collicot DEI Committee and sponsored by the Collicot, Cunningham, Glover and Tucker PTOs. All details can be found here. 

at this link. All details can be found here.

Milton Public Schools families, staff, teachers and the entire Milton community are all welcome! The link to attend via Zoom can be found here and is posted on our website. This event will be recorded.

The link to attend via Zoom can be found here posted on our website. SCHOOL COMMITTEE

The next regular Milton School Committee meeting is on February 2, 2022 at 7pm.  All information about attending School Committee meetings can be found on the Town of Milton webpage under School Committee. You can watch School Committee meetings live on Milton Access TV online, live on Milton Access cable channels (Comcast 22, RCN 15) or watch on-demand in the days following the meeting.

Town of Milton webpage under School Committee. Milton Access TV online on-demand IMPORTANT UPCOMING DATES 

• Jan 20 Talking to Young Children About Racism 
• Jan 27 Kindergarten Information Night; Kindergarten Pre-registration is open at this link.
• Jan 28 Asian Culture Club Culture Fair 
• Feb 2 Early Release K-12 
• Feb 2 Milton School Committee 

Please refer to the District-Wide Calendar of Events for times and details. The 21-22 School Year Calendar can be found here. (Updated 1/7/22)

Please refer to the District-Wide Calendar of Events for times and details. The 21-22 School Year Calendar can be found here.

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Important Kindergarten Dates: Kindergarten Information Night will be held virtually on Thursday, January 27 at 6:30 pm, and Kindergarten pre-registration is open at this link. The Zoom link to attend can be found here.

Important Kindergarten Dates:  this link.  here

Kindergarten registration for the school year 2022/2023 will begin in the early spring. All details and information will be shared at Kindergarten Information Night on January 27, 2022. 

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Culture Fair: The MHS Asian Culture Club is hosting a Culture Fair for all in the Milton Public Schools! We hope to respectfully celebrate the diversity in our community. It will be on Friday, January 28, 2022 from 6:30-8:00 PM in the Milton High School Library.

Culture Fair:

The Club welcomes all faculty and MHS students to create a presentation. To sign up to create a presentation, please use this link. All students and families in the Milton Public Schools are invited to visit the fair. 

please use this link. HIGH SCHOOL HAPPENINGS

Thanks to MHS student Mia Gilmore for sharing the following opportunity for our MHS students.  Mia serves as the Director of Outreach for the Greater Boston STEM Program gbSTEM. gbSTEM is an enrichment program that has brought free mathematics, computer science, and engineering lessons to over 600 Massachusetts youth.

gbSTEM gbSTEM

For the spring 2022 semester, gbSTEM is looking for dedicated student volunteers to teach Computer Science and Math classes. They are looking for passionate high school students to join the gbSTEM community and teach classes remotely through Zoom. Volunteering as an instructor will show initiative, strengthen your resume, and allow you to contribute to the community.

gbSTEM

The semester will run from March 14 to June 12, 2022. The deadline for instructor applications is March 6, 2022. The application form and all course descriptions can be found on our website. If you have any questions, please contact gbstemprogram@gmail.com.

website. gbstemprogram@gmail.com

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Milton Minds Matter is a community-based, youth-led club promoting positive mental health for high school-aged teens. They are hosting a meeting next Tuesday, January 25th from 7-8pm at the Teen Center of the First Congregational Church. The topic of discussion will be seasonal depression and vision boards.  All details can be found here. 

All details can be found here.  PIERCE PAGES

Pierce students recently completed poems in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr Day. Literacy Coordinator Cat DesRoche shared that there were dozens of excellent examples of student work and she shares some of them here. Gemma Ansello MLK Poem; Emma Sutphin MLK Poem; Sage Scheller MLK Poem; Breigha Comeau MLK Poem; Patrick Mulhall MLK Poem; Michaela Oppong MLK Poem

Gemma Ansello MLK Poem; Emma Sutphin MLK Poem Sage Scheller MLK Poem; Breigha Comeau MLK Poem; Patrick Mulhall MLK Poem; Michaela Oppong MLK Poem

INSIDE OUR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

Cunningham 3rd graders recently participated in an SEL lesson focusing on self and social awareness. Students were encouraged to feel empowered and to find their voice and use it to make the world a better place. Our thoughts and feelings cannot only impact ourselves but also others when we voice them. Student’s listened to the book Say Something! By Peter Reynolds. Each student was given the opportunity to write and draw something they want to say to the world.

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Elementary students at every school read books, participated in discussions and created written and art work in honor of Dr. King.  You can see a sampling of their work at this link and also in the pictures below.

at this link

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Glover 3rd graders studied the artwork of Kenojuak Ashevak and other Inuit artists from Cape Dorset, a remote area of Northern Canada. Students then created their own artwork inspired by the textures, colors, and imaginative arctic animals seen commonly in the ‘Cape Dorset Style’ of printmaking. The results have been lively and beautifully unique!

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As part of this month’s Community Circle, Tucker students were excited to have a special guest speaker in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Circle focused on Dr King’s legacy and the importance of service. In particular, we noted that although it was a day off from school it should be a day on for service in whatever form we are able to offer. With Covid restrictions, Tucker was unable to do their annual service day in honor of Dr. King and they look forward to returning to that tradition next year. 

The special guest speaker was Kaamal Jarrett, owner of Hillside Harvest, which was recently named the official hot sauce of the Boston Red Sox! Mr. Jarrett is a Tucker School alumni and spoke to our Tucker Tigers about his experience moving to Milton from Jamaica, growing up and having big dreams as a Tucker student and turning those dreams into a successful career. Mr. Jarrett also spoke about how the kindness of friends and advocates in his own life allowed him to grow and he related this back to Tucker’s current citizenship focus on Advocacy.

website here MILTON COMMUNITY SCHOOLS please visit the Milton Community Schools website at this link. FAMILY RESOURCES  newsletter home page cpcmecasld@verizon.net Family Resource Newsletter Milton Public School Resource Guide mmckenna@miltonps.org MPS JOB OPPORTUNITIES   Teaching:  Apply for a Job at MPS link MPS website posted on our website.  PRESCHOOL INFORMATION

• Preschool Information Night Presentation 
• Preschool Overview 2022-2023 
• Preschool Fact Sheet 2022-2023
• Important Preschool Dates 2022-2023
• Tuition Assistance Information 
• Preschool Pre-registration Link  – Deadline for Lottery, Thursday, January 27, 2022

preschool@miltonps.org TECHNOLOGY  Please visit this link SEPAC  More details and the link to register can be found here.  MILTON FOUNDATION FOR EDUCATION Annual Appeal Campaign the link to donate can be found here. ATHLETICS  Boosters Membership Reminder Join the Boosters at this link today! website linked here. COMMUNITY NEWS click here Visit our website to register or learn more. The Milton Public Library’s  January February programs Sign up today at this link.  Brookwood Community Farm president@brookwoodcommunityfarm.org Brookwood website.  Courageous Conversations towards Racial Justice in person and virtual attendance is here. Sign up at this link.  Thank you to my blog contributors this week: BLOG SUBSCRIPTION:  please enter your email here to subscribe

This press release was produced by the Milton Public Schools. The views expressed here are the author’s own.